I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)

imidazol97

I really like the Patch Museum. Clicking through the individual pictures I see lots of cars from the 50s and 60s. The colors of the ones collected are really good at being representative of the ones from that era--so I'm told.

I like the PayPal ad at the bottom: Just put it on your credit card through PayPal. I don't think if I add all the credit lines on my cards I could pay $2, 275,000!

andys120

Quite a potpourri this week, how odd to find a '41 Olds with an Automatic and a '65 S-Class with a stick, it seems backwards.

hpmctorque

"... how odd to find a '41 Olds with an Automatic..."

Yeah, and the '41 had the I-6. I'm wondering what the breakdown of I-6 vs. I-8 engines with automatics was for that model year, and whether the engine/transmission combination in that car might have been somewhat rare. Although I don't have the figures now, In the post WWII '40s, 1946-1948, before the introduction of the Rocket V8, there were a lot more Hydra-matic equipped I-8s than I-6s.

boomchek

The museum is neat. It only makes sense to buy it for personal use, but have a place open where you can charge people to see it and collect some revenue to pay rent, and keep some staff.

Otheriwse I don't think you'll ever make back the money you "invested" in it.

Toy car collection is nice too but too bad it's not in boxes. Although you do get a lot for the money, comes out to about a dollar each.

I acutally like the style of the bustleback caddy. It reminds me of a car you'd see in Romneo + Juliet movie from 1990s with weird cars and stuff.

Fintail, does your fintail have air suspension too or was it only found on higher models?

fintail

My car has conventional suspension. Air suspension on fintails was only for the highline W112 models, which have an engine somewhat closely related to that in the 300SL of the period. The W112 fintails were very complex and I am sure their survival rates are significantly lower than normal models. They are extremely rare in roadworthy condition.

I have read that some of the very last W112 300SEs had the sought after 5-speed ZF transmission. One of those cars would be very desireable today.

andre1969

I find myself really liking that 1980 Olds Ninety Eight. I'm pleasantly shocked that it doesn't have some ridiculous reserve price on it. With the current bid at $2650, I'm not seeing anything that says "reserve not met". I mean, I know these cars aren't worth a whole lot of money, but try telling that to some old geezer who thinks it's a classic and is worth a small fortune.

Heck, if that sucker wasn't all the way across the country, I'd probably bid on it! I need another malaise era mammoth car like I need a hole in the head, but that thing looks like it's in a heckuva lot nicer shape than either of my '79 New Yorkers!

toomanyfumes

My deceased father-in-law had a '81 Ninety Eight. His has 100K, but he was obsessive about maintaining it and the interior looks better than that one. It's currently garaged and is driven every few months or so.

Speaking of unusually equipped vehicle, a Caddy 500 in a Pacer? What? Why?
That had to have been a nightmare to swap. And the car looks kinda ratty.

andys120

Speaking of unusually equipped vehicle, a Caddy 500 in a Pacer? What? Why?

You have to wonder about the weight distribution with that 500 CID hunk of Iron in the front?? 60F /40R?? :sick:

hpmctorque

Spotted a black mid-late '80s GTS 4-door hatchback. The car seemed in good, though not outstanding, and was being driven by a 60ish year old gentleman.

I always felt these cars were nicely styled for their day, but a little rough around the edges. I think the Taurus ate into the sales of these Mopars, because it was more car for the same or maybe even a little less money.

Mr_Shiftright

If you wanted an engine that put out the least HP per lb of weight, that 500 CID might be it.

explorerx4

funny you should mention that, i just saw this ad today;
GTS

grahampaige

I want the Graham, but the shipping here migh be a little expensive. A lot of work in it though, i would be a complete re-wood (not much of the wooden substructure would have survived undamaged. Pity because they were a nice car (fast for the time as well)

Weirdly as it against everything I usually like, something about that Seville appeals

That 300 fintail looks like a the worlds biggest money pit. They were well built at the time, but to rebuild it would be uneconomical

hpmctorque

It's been a lot of years, but I just recalled that when Chrysler introduced that car and its Dodge counterpart, for the '84 model year, I believe, they compared its performance with then much more expensive European brands. The idea was, why buy an expensive German or Swedish car when you can get similar, or even better performance with a Chrysler turbo? Well, the numbers may have been similar, but there was a world of difference in refinement. Nevertheless, the poseur could make a decent impression with Uncle Lee's leather equipped GTS Premium turbo, and not only put a BMW 318, Mercedes 190, or Saab 900 to shame from a stoplight, but also hang with those in the twisties. Well, okay, maybe the GTS would give up some ground on curves, but probably not too much, since the GTS had a stiffer suspension than the LeBaron notch back coupes and sedans.

lemko

That Olds would make a REALLY NICE hooptie! I'd buy it myself if it wasn't so far away.

lemko

...red Alfa Romeo Spider near the Willow Grove exit of the PA Turnpike last night.

fintail

Yesterday I had another 80s flashback, pulled up to a light and was behind an 85-88 Maxima which was in surprisingly good condition, and a 190E 2.3.

lemko

1969-72 Sunbeam Alpine similar to the Rapier pictured below:



I estimate it to be at least within that range due to the thin bumpers.

fintail

There's a Chrysler Intrepid sitting in the garage of my building this morning.

andre1969

There's a Chrysler Intrepid sitting in the garage of my building this morning.

See if you can jimmy the hood and yank off its a/c compressor for me. :shades:

I saw a Chrysler Intrepid a couple years ago, at the parking lot of a local movie theater. I guess they're a more common sight along the border, but I'd never seen one in the DC area.

fintail

Sorry, my crowbar is in the other car

This one had BC plates and a license plate frame from a competitor of boomchek's dealer

boomchek

lol that's funny. Grey market Intrepid lurking in Seattle.

fintail

I'd hope it was a visitor rather than someone who imported an oddball rebadge of an older sedan...even Andre isn't enough of a Mopar nut to do something like that :P

boomchek

It was probably one of us shopper Canadians who go drive down, stay a few nights down there so that we can bring in more duty free stuff into Canada.

andre1969

brought out some interesting cars. I went to see a movie, and saw a purple Plymouth Prowler pull up at the curb in front of the entrance and drop someone off. I can't remember the last time I saw one of those, outside of the Mopar show at Carlisle.

On the way home, at a traffic light, a kid in a pristine looking red Mitsubishi 3000 GT pulled up next to us. Really young kid, I swear he didn't even look old enough to drive, but then I hear that happens as you get older. People who are older than you think end up looking like little kids to you! Anyway, my friend who was driving figured the kid was going to take off fast, but he didn't. So either he didn't know how to drive a stick all that well, or he had Daddy's 3000 GT out and knew he was gonna get a whippin' if he messed it up!

At one point, further up the road, we turned off, but then saw the kid drive by, and some older dude on a motorcycle was tailgating him. The kid was driving at the legal limit, not doing anything wrong, but I could see it was still getting that biker miffed.

Oh, and then something embarrassing happened. Something low-slung and sporty looking pulled up in the turn lane to the left of us, but since I was a passenger, I could only see its roof. It had a really funny engine sound to it, and I could immediately tell it wasn't a V-8! It made me think of a big six-cylinder that someone tried to hop up and/or fart-can. I made a comment along the lines of "and the sad thing is, that probably isn't even a V-8." I asked my friend what kind of car it was, and he said "it says 'Viper' on it". Oops! I guess I'd just never really heard, or paid attention to, the sound that a V-10 makes when it's idling, so I didn't recognize it. Anyway, it sounded pretty sweet when it took off, but at idle just about any choked down 70's smallblock that lost its muffler almost sounds better! :P

Also on Sunday, I went with my uncle to the mechanic to drop his truck off for servicing. On the way out, I saw a 1986 Monte Carlo, dark gray, with some primer work on it. At the mechanic's place, I saw a '61 Chrysler Town & Country wagon. Totally beat up, and missing a fender, but it was still kind of a cool sight. It had a lot of junk in the back, so I couldn't tell if it was a 3-seat model or not.

Yesterday, I went to get his truck, and drop off my Intrepid. He had a 1960 Dodge Matador 4-door sedan that was in the process of being restored. It was sitting outside, getting scrubbed down. Interior totally stripped, front-end clip off the car, and all the chrome, doors, glass, and trunk were off. It was sort of a plum color. I asked him about it, and he said he owned it. He must really have a love for the 1960 Dodge, because I couldn't see any upshot to restoring a 1960 Matador sedan that thoroughly. Even doing it himself, I'm sure it has to cost a lot of money. Still neat cars, and I wouldn't mind having one if it was in decent shape...but I wouldn't sink a fortune into one!

Finally, last but not least, I saw a '56 Buick convertible drive past as I was pulling out of the grocery store parking lot. It was red, and one of the big C-body models. I'm guessing it was a Super, as it didn't seem to have a lot of chrome on it. I imagine a Roadmaster would've been more chrome-laden, and more likely to be two-toned.

fezo

You must live some charmed life.

This week I saw a Chevy Corsica tooling around. I only mention it because I'm amazed that someone still has one.

boomchek

That's a good car spotting day.

fintail

I can't blame those shoppers for coming down...some Canadian prices (and taxes) are really out of line.

The Intrepid is still there this morning...it's an "SE" which must be lowline, as it has hubcaps. I have noticed Canadian trim designations can be different from US, especially on Hondas, where for ages in the US it was (DX-LX-EX) and in Canada it was (LX-EX-EXR)

fintail

Those Dodge Matadors weren't exactly beauty queens. Must be a labor of love. A 61 wagon would be a lot cooler.

andre1969

The Intrepid is still there this morning...it's an "SE" which must be lowline, as it has hubcaps.

Yeah, that's the cheap model. That would also put it at a 2001 or newer. For 1998-2000, the base model was just "Intrepid". The 2001 had the "SE" badge on the rear door, on that little black spacer behind the window. On the 2002-04 models, it was on the trunk lid.

fintail

This one was on the trunk. Appeared to be in very good condition, maybe one of the last built.

boomchek

We had an 02 Interpid SE on our lot not too long ago actually with hubcaps. Canadian models are a bit different.

You're right about Hondas, for a while they were off by a trim level compared to the US models.

Even during the 90s and up to the currenty generation of Civics we had an Si, where as you guys didn't aqlthough our Si was your Civic EX.

It seems that as of 06 the trim levels are somehwat the same, although our basic Civic DX comes with a CD player, and yours doesn't.

fintail

I think here all the Si badged Civics had some kind of performance parts. The US had those back in the 80s IIRC, but from the 92+ generation the suffix died off until the ca. 2003 hatchback.

boomchek

Yes, the hatchback was called an SiR here, as we had am Si in the form of a Civic coupe, with identical features as the US Civc coupe EX had.

Nevertheless the hatchback SiR was a bit of an oddball here and never sold in huge numbers partially due to it's price, it's style, and it's interior with the placement of the shifter.

In addition there was a very high profiule accident involving a street racer road racing his SiR and t-boning a police officer who died, and all Civic SiRs were prime targets for cops after that.

Overall they are decent cars but just never very popular.

fintail

Now that I think of it, there was an Si coupe around the year 2000, but relatively rare and only made for a year or two. The US has never had a SiR, not that I can recall anyway.

The people who live a short distance from me, who I believe are a distant relative of Andre with their car choices (it might even be just one guy) have an 84-85 Civic Si hatchback that's in pretty good shape.

I had a coworker who had a ca. 2003 Si hatchback, with the European style shifter. He said he liked it a lot, but he traded it for a used Lexus GS :confuse:

boomchek

I recall the Civic Si coupe too, except it was called an SiR here. It had the twin cam 1.6L 160HP engine. I still like those, and they have a cult following around here due to the motor. They are also the most stolen can in BC.

imidazol97

I'm ready for car shows to start. It's 75 deg. We've had several warm days. But I'd guess no cruiseins for at least a month til the end of April.

andre1969

Yeah, I'm looking forward to the car shows, too. We had temps in the 70's over the weekend, but there was still a lot of salt on the roads. Heck, in some places, there was still a bit of snow piled here and there, from earlier in the week! I got my Catalina out of the garage and put the top down. It was really cool, watching that top go up and down, all by itself. I've had that car almost 15 years, but this is the first time it's had a fully functional top!

fintail

Yeah Hondas of that era are high on the stolen lists here too - they must be pretty easy to take. A little too high schooler-ish for me...probably not easy to find one that hasn't been junked up with add ons.

Funny thing, another coworker had an old Honda, a 93 Accord EX coupe. It was a loaded model with leather. Of course, it got stolen, and when it was found it had been gutted - they took the interior and other parts. They also took the stock EX wheels and put black steel wheels on it to roll the shell around. Seems like a lot of work for something like that.

fintail

In my area there are few good cruise-ins or shows, nothing like those massive meets in the east. I'd like to come out there sometime and attend one of those.

boomchek

they took the interior and other parts

Here in Canada, the Acura Integra Type R was written off whenever someone stole the front and rear seats (special stitching, red in color), even if no other damage was done.

And they did get stolen a lot too because everyone wanted Type R goodies in their lower model Integras or Civics.

The reason the cars were written off is because Honda never sold the entire seats through their parts departments. They only sold individual parts that made up the seats, and you would have to assemble them yourself. The cost of the parts to make the seats were prohibitive and so was assembly.

fintail

That's a shame about the Integra...bad planning by the automaker.

I know my coworker's car was written off too...I just have to wonder who would want seats and stock wheels from a 93 Accord?

boomchek

Believe it or not Honda is still doing the same thing with the Odyssey. When I sold Hondas and the redesigned Odyssey arrived in 2005 some people wanted the base model but wanted to buy the removable second row middle seat found in higher models that increases passenger capacity to 8.

When I inquired with our parts dept they said you can't just buy the seat in one piece. The only way to order it is by buying all the components seperately like the cushion, brackets, springs, levers, plastic trim, attachments and screws, and then assembling it yourself. :confuse:

fintail

I am surprised there isn't massive pressure by insurance companies and banks (who do the financing and deal with write-offs) to stop something so insane. It's just asking for theft, and if the carmaker would sell the parts as a finished product, they'd probably actually make some money on them too - as nobody is going to buy the bits and pieces.

boomchek

It is weird and I agree with you.

Speaking of parts, and obscure classic cars, I was hanging out in our Dodge parts dept, flipping through their parts catalogs, and I was surprised you can order brand new Mopar made classic car parts like fenders, hoods, badges, trim pieces, mirrors, all for older models like 60s and 70s Chargers, Challengers, and Dusters and what not.

I thought it was pretty cool that there's manufacturer supported source of parts for these classics. I guess same as with MB having old parts available for almost any model.

fezo

My comment on the Corsica must have done it. About an hour and a half ago I'm driving along and what goes by but a really nice looking 56 Chevy.

fintail

That kind of thing is very cool. You can still get pretty much all mechanical parts for old MB via the dealer, but I have to suspect some trim parts don't exist anymore.

A few years ago someone accidentally broke the side view mirror on my fintail, and I was able to replace the glass with a part that came in a modern MB parts box. Pretty crazy, as I am pretty sure that's a shape that was discontinued around 1968.

magnette

Only a couple of old cars in the last week or so -

MGA coupe on a trailer
Hillman Minx - phase VI, so about 1953/4 - I overtook it on the motorway, in Wales
and this morning a Mercedes - Benz fintail passed my office - didn't see the badge, but it was one of the more basic models I think - and it had 1965 C suffix registration plates..

fezo

Gee, I wonder of they make parts as far back as the fifties. We could get andre working on his DeSoto!

andre1969

Well, if it wasn't for the economy tanking, I'd probably have the DeSoto at my mechanic's place right now. My original plan was that, once he was finished working on my Catalina, I'd send the DeSoto in. Unfortunately, it was September when I sent the Catalina in, and that was just before the economic crash-and-burn. It was mid/late January when I got it back, and by that time most of my assets had been pretty thoroughly gutted.

Oh, and to top it off, the Intrepid just bit into me to the tune of about $1300, to get the a/c fixed after the compressor grenaded and contaminated the whole system quite nicely.

Speaking of DeSotos, I saw one today. At the mechanics place, he had a '59 Firedome 4-door sedan sitting out in front. I'd seen it before, though, as he's had it awhile. I forget why he has it now. He said he was going to strip some stuff off of it, and then junk the rest. Evidently, it's pretty far gone.

Oh, and on the way to pick up the Intrepid, we went down a back road for a change of pace. I saw an orange '69 Camaro hardtop, and a brown '73-77 El Camino. It was facing away from the road, so I couldn't see if it had round headlights or rectangular. Both of them looked like they were in decent shape. Not pristine, and they always sit outside, but still definitely serviceable!

fezo

Come on now! Somebody has to stimulate the economy...